Many have questioned whether it's possible to navigate the complications involved in a dynamic involving athlete and coach as well as wife and husband. Katinka Hosszu, though, wouldn't have things any other way.

"It's amazing to share it [success] with someone that you really love," Katinka told CNN's Don Riddell, as she reflected on her marriage and partnership with husband and coach Shane Tusup. "So it's been really special for us."

The Hungarian had been so disillusioned with swimming after narrowly missing out on a medal at London 2012 that she nearly threw in the towel.

Tusup's high-visibility approach to coaching -- he has become something of a mini-celebrity poolside and has his wife's "Iron Lady" nickname tattooed on his arm -- isn't to the taste of everyone in swimming.

But Hosszu, who also won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, insists: "I'm really happy [with the way he works], because honestly I wouldn't be in Rio if he wasn't with me after London.

"I most likely would have walked away from the sport, and it's just crazy to think that now, four years later, I'm sitting here talking to you and I have four medals and three of them are gold ... I was thinking of quitting.

Hosszu's coach husband Shane Tusup celebrates after his wife broke the world record to win the women's 400m individual medley final.

She added further golds in the 100m backstroke and the 200m individual medley -- in which she set an Olympic record of 2:06.58 -- and won silver in the 200m backstroke, finishing second to DiRado.

She says the "Iron Lady" is a competitive extension of her own personality, explaining: "When I step on the block, you see the 'Iron Lady.' Katinka Hosszu is back in the hotel or home with her personal issues, but the 'Iron Lady' has no excuses and will fight to bring out my best."

Hosszu and Tusup are pictured together at the FINA world championships in August 2015.